I have a round trip flight to Palermo from the states. I have a layover in Frankfurt and Rome before I get to Palermo. I have decided to stay in Rome for a few days and not to take the last leg of my intital flight to Palermo. Now, I still want my return flight to initiate out of Palermo back to the states. Now because of the restrictions on the type of ticket I bought if I do not show for any of the flights on my itinerary Lufthansa will cancel the rest of my flights. I called and spoke with a supervisor at Lufthansa and she told me she cannot cancel or change my flights because of the type of ticket I bought however she told me I could go to the ticket counter once in Rome and ask them to cancel the last leg of my initial flight out of Rome to Palermo but to keep my returning flight out of Palermo to the states the following week. Now, here is where the problem comes in, she could not guarantee that the person at the ticket counter who helps me in Rome would be able to accommodate me however according to the supervisor the majority of the time the airport personel will be able to help me. I have been round and round about this with Lufthansa but still am unable to get a guarantee that the personnel at the airport will be able to accommodate me without endagering my flight back home. Has anyone either encountered a similar situation and if so what did you do or has anyone had experience with Lufthansa personnel in the Rome airport and had to cancel or change a flight and how accommodating were they? Any help with this question is greatly appreciated.

Hi RomanceinItaly,

I had a similar problem, although not in Italy or with Luftansa. I had purchased a round trip ticket to Palm Springs from San Francisco and ended up only using the return flight. I naively had no idea that this would be a problem. When I went to check in on the return flight, they said my reservation had been cancelled since I did not take the original flight. I was shocked and showed it. Ultimately, they ended up putting me on the flight without much of a problem. This was with United.

I think you will probably be ok if you just insist on having your way. After all, it only saves them money for you to be present on less of the flight rather than more.

Gook luck!

Daria

Daria, Thanks for sharing your experience. As you may imagine I am only worried because the person I am visiting is picking me up in Rome now and it would really suck if the airline personnel didn't accommodate me and I ended up having to take the flight from Rome to Palermo in order not to lose my returning flight to the states.

Neither one of us knows for sure, but I think that Daria is 100% wrong. And the only reliable source for an answer to your question is a Lufthansa agent, preferably in person, or if identified by name or employee number by phone. If you purchased from a travel or ticket agent, that person might be able to change your ticket.

I would NOT trust any approach that does not provide a confirmation FROM Lufthansa, or ideally -- a re-issued ticket.

Best wishes,

Rex

Let me give you a piece of advice....NEVER trust what the airlines tell you. Trust me, I know as I have to deal with them on a daily basis. My clients get into more trouble because they listen to what someone over the telephone told them. Unless your record is documented in the computer you have nothing to go on and are at the mercy of the airline personnel at the airport. I know it happens that they will just cancel the flight not needed, but that is by far not the norm. You could get there and end up having to pay more to have that ticket reissued, which is technically what is supposed to happen. I honestly would never take a chance like this unless you have a lot of money to waste. I would either keep the ticket the way it is or have it reissued prior to you leaving, which unfortunately ends up costing money. Welcome to the wonderful world of the friendly airlines!

I had a thought. harmony29, do you think he could check into his flight, but just not take it? I'm wondering if that would do what the computer needs. . . .

RomanceinItaly,

I'm a litle confused by what the Lufthansa supervisor told you - to get off in Rome and then try to get the ticket changed??!! That makes absolutely NO SENSE! When you check in for your first flight in the US, the agent will tag your luggage through to Palermo and give you boarding passes for all three flights, so sure you can get off in Rome, but your luggage will travel on to Palermo!!

You absolutely must get this situation sorted out before you leave. I find Lufthansa's attitude quite pathetic as I can't imagine a ticket with the routing you intend to take would have been any more expensive than the one you purchased (this is the airlines' standard justification for cancelling your return reservation if you try to only use the second half of a cheap return ticket).

I would call Lufthansa again and politely insist that they cancel the Rome-Palermo flight. If they refuse, IMO you're doomed to fly all the way through to Palermo

Hope this helps,
Andre

>...do you think he could check into his flight, but just not take it? <

I'm afraid that this would create a major problem for the security people.

Unfortunately, I seem to be at the mercy of Lufthansa. When I purchased my ticket, through a third party who now tells me it is up to Lufthansa, because it was such a discounted rate I could not make any changes/cancellations/refunds that sort of thing. Which is fine, I neither want a refund nor necessarily need an itinerary cancellation or change. As I explained to the supervisor I spoke with at Lufthansa, I was only requesting that I did not want to physically be on the flight from Rome to Palermo. The only thing she could offer me was that she was unable to make any changes to my ticket but that on the day of my flight the airport personnel either at Philly or Rome may be able to accommodate my request without cancelling my return flight home. Now, the baggage situation is not really a problem considering I am not checking anything, it is all carry on for me. Well, it looks like I will have to call Lufthansa yet again and I may end up having to take this unwanted flight. The one thing I don't understand is exactly what is it that the airline is losing by not having my person on that flight. I mean what if I became ill on my flight to Rome or was injured and could not continue on to Palermo. Would the airline still cancel my return flight home?

You may not think so, but you ARE asking for an itinerary change. You had a ticket for Philadelphia to Palermo. You now want a ticket for Philadelphia to Rome. That IS a change in itinerary.

And they DO have the right to cancel your return ticket if you change your itinerary on your own by not flying that segment.

I am not standing up for the airlines - - but when they sell a ticket for a deep, deep discount - - and inform you that there are NO changes, then they are within your rights to hold you to that. The alternative is to not accept their discount in the first place. Every buyer has that option.

I do think there is a good chance that they will allow this change, done on the fly - - but you need to get them to SAY SO - - and be sure that they will not cancel your return ticket.

It would be tragically expensive if you were faced with no choice but to buy a one way, no-advance-purchase ticket to get home.

Definitely don't check in for the flight and then not board, as others have said, that would be a MAJOR security issue. And also like others have said, your luggage will be checked all the way through to Palermo, so you will be without it. I know you said you plan on doing carryon only, but you cannot always count on that either, whether the cabin is too full or the bag is slightly larger than allowed, I wouldn't chance not having my luggage. You really are at the mercy of the airline unfortunately. The only other option you may have instead of calling is to go to the airport to the actual LH desk and see if they will change it before hand. When dealing with the airlines it's a sticky situation and you just never know. I truly feel for you, but this is exactly why I would never buy a ticket off orbitz, etc. because of all the restrictions. And Im not just saying that because Im an agent, in fact I am leaving the travel agent side soon, so I'll be in the same boat as you guys, but will book with the airlines directly or through consolidators, it's just not worth the risks with the cheap online companies.